The Piano Girl
by eleanorr
Summary: When River and The Doctor get back to the Tardis, a strange girl has somehow appeared there. While trying to get her home, a surprising connection between the girl and the Doctor is discovered. In the Alternate Universe, Rose Tyler finds out she is pregnant, something for which she was not prepared.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Doctor Who or any of the characters.**

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1.

It had been a great day. The doctor had come to pick up River from her cell, and they had gone to a park were they had enjoyed a picnic. They had been on their own, just the two of them. So when they got back to the Tardis, this was not what he was expecting.

When he opened the blue door with a snap of his fingers, he could hear soft piano music coming from indoors. It was a bit strange, but he didn't think too much of it. The Tardis could play music, and he suspected she had just turned on some music for her own enjoyment. But when the Doctor got indoors, he learned that that was not the case.

First of all, the music didn't seem to be coming from the control room. One of the doors that led to the hallways was slightly opened. Walking over to the door, River following in his footstep, he could see through the gap. The hallway seemed to have vanished; instead there was a sort of room, with natural light and grey walls. He turned around to look at River, who was just as surprised as he was.

Then he noticed that the music wasn't a recording. Every now and then, there would be a small mistake, after which the player would stop for half a second and start again. Also, the piano seemed to be slightly off tune.

This led him to believe that there was an actual live piano player, who had somehow entered his ship, and was now playing the piano in a room that had not been there before.

Quietly, the Doctor pushed the door open a little further, hoping not to disturb the pianist. He stuck his head around the door to get a good look of him, and was surprised to find a girl sitting on the bench, with her back towards him. River popped up beside him, dying to find out what was happening, and turned her head sharply towards him when she saw the girl. He could see the questions in her eyes, but because he did not want to reveal their presence to the girl, he did not answer them.

Instead, he turned his head back to the girl. She was wearing black tights, black trainers, a black vest and a black skirt with pink flowers. She had thick blond hair that fell just past her shoulders and a fair skin. Even though he could not see her face, somehow she reminded her of someone. He felt like he'd seen her before, like he recognised her, but couldn't remember when and where.

Still oblivious to the fact that there were two people standing behind her, the girl continued playing the piano. The Doctor could hear the song coming to an end and then the final chord sounded. The girl, apparently thirsty, reached for a mug that was placed on the piano, only to discover it was empty. She stood up from the bench and turned around, seeing the Doctor and River.

Her face got even paler and she seemed too surprised to even scream. She took a few steps back while trying to find her voice. Then she said: 'What are you doing here?'

'What are we doing here?' the Doctor asked, 'What are _you _doing here?'

'You are in my house!' the girl exclaimed.

'Actually, your house seems to be in my house. Or at least part of it.'

The girl looked at him in utter confusion, and then asked: 'What do you mean?'

The Doctor opened the door further and took a few steps back, as did River. The girl could now clearly see the control room, and, assuming she did not have a control room in her home, would be convinced part of her house had moved.

The girl stepped into the control room, shock washing over her face.

'Where… how… how… Where are my parents? They were in the kitchen! They were sitting just here, in the kitchen, and now they're gone! What have you done to my house? And what have you done to my parents?'

'I don't know what happened! I didn't do anything!' the Doctor answered. 'You and your piano just sort of popped up in my ship. It wasn't my fault.'

As he said that, the door to the strange piano room suddenly closed with a loud bang.

'I'm sorry, I must have left the window open,' the girl said, and opened the door. Suddenly, she froze. The Doctor looked over her head and saw what the problem was. The room had vanished again, and the space behind the door had turned back into a hallway.

'How did that happen?' The Doctor looked into her eyes. Instead of shock he now saw a sense of wonder in her eyes, and she seemed genuinely interested in how such a thing could happen. Again, she reminded him of someone, but he couldn't remember whom. Or maybe, he didn't want to remember.

'Okay,' he said, turning around and taking a few steps away from her and the door, 'let's figure this out. First things first: what is your name?'

'I'm Immy.'

'Immy… That's a lovely name. Sounds cheerful. Well, I'm the Doctor and this is River. From your point of view, what happened when you came here?'

'Nothing happened. I was just at home playing the piano, and suddenly you were standing in my piano room and the rest of house had vanished. I hope my parents are okay…'

'I'm sure they are,' the Doctor said to comfort her, even though there was of course no way of knowing for sure. 'If you tell me where you live, I can get you home.'

'Yeah, okay…' Immy said, and she told him her address. The Doctor typed it in and then turned to her.

'You sure that's your address?'

'Of course I am! What idiot can't remember his own address?' she said, slightly offended.

'It's just… the Tardis says it doesn't exist.'


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the characters.**

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2.

Rose looked at the tiny little plus sign in horror. She had not planned _this_. She had not wanted _this_. She was not ready for _this._

The stupid little stick must have gotten it wrong. There was no way that she could be… She couldn't even say it. She picked up the blue-and-white pregnancy test and threw it in the bin, planning on taking another test later, which would surely tell her that she was not actually pregnant.

She went back into the bedroom, and saw that the Doctor was still sleeping. She quietly got dressed without turning the lights on. Then she went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

A few hours later, when she felt the need to use the bathroom, she took the second test and used it. While waiting two minutes as it said on the box, she thought back to that night.

It had only been the second week after the real Doctor had left the both of them in the alternate universe. Things were a bit awkward. She liked him, but she was confused and scared and didn't know what to do. The Doctor had suggested to go to the pub. Rose had agreed.

After that, things were a bit fuzzy. Rose didn't remember much, but she knew they had had way too much to drink and had ended up in bed. She had been concerned for a while when she woke up the following morning, but then she saw the empty condom wrapper on the bedside table. It had reassured her enough to not think about it any more.

They had not talked about their night in de days that followed. They did start sleeping in the same bed however, though they were taking things slowly.

That was why it came as a total surprise when her period did not come. Or the month after that. That was when she decided to get a pregnancy test. Or three.

Two minutes had passed, and Rose looked at the little stick. A blue plus sign stared back at her. It was strange how such a little symbol could completely change your life. Suddenly she felt sick with worry. She had to tell him. And her mother. And Pete. What would they think? She felt stupid and irresponsible and she wanted to cry and ask her mother for help. She gagged. Okay, so it wasn't just worry. She was _actually_ feeling sick. She turned around, fell to her knees in front of the toilet and saw her breakfast for the second time that morning. She spat, trying to get the awful taste out of her mouth and flushed the toilet. She grabbed the cup and flushed her mouth multiple times.

There was a soft knock on the door. 'Rose? Are you okay? Did you just vomit? I heard some weird noises.'

Rose looked at herself in the mirror, and was glad to see that she hadn't cried. She didn't want to look weak.

She knew she had to tell them. He had the right to know. If this… _pregnancy_ had happened on the night she thought it had, it meant that she was almost 3 months pregnant. She had to tell him.

She unlocked the door and looked at him, the pregnancy test still in her hand. She took his hand and placed the stick inside it. 'I'm pregnant,' she said quietly, 'I'm sorry…'

'Your pregnant?' he said, looking at her in disbelief. 'But… That's great! Right? Kids are great! You seem a bit down about it.'

'Yes, of course I am! I mean, you don't have a job, we're not married, babies are expensive, we live in a tiny apartment, we've only really been together for a few months and I'm only 22,' she blurted out.

'Oh, Rose, it's gonna be alright,' he said, hugging her. He could feel a warm, wet spot forming on his shirt were her face was pressed to his chest. He stroked her hair. 'We will make this work,' he whispered, and planted a kiss on the top of her head.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the characters.**

3.

'What do you mean, it doesn't exist?' Immy's said in disbelief. 'I _live_ there. Surely it exists!'

'I believe you, but look,' the Doctor said, and he tapped on the monitor with his index finger, '_Location not found._ The Tardis can't go there if she can't find it.'

'Okay, I don't understand a word of what you're saying. First of all, what is a Tardis? I thought this was your house. Now that I come to think about it, why does your house have a control room? Where am I?' She looked shocked that she hadn't noticed this all before.

'This _is_ my house. Sort of,' answered the Doctor, 'It is a space ship and it can go anywhere in the universe, _but it does need to find the location_. And that is the problem here.'

'Well, can't we just go there by car or something? I mean, it must be there, it's in Cardiff. Or we could just go to Cardiff and then we can walk the rest.'

'Sounds like a reasonable enough plan,' River said, as she took her place by the controls. 'Hold on tight!'

After what seemed only seconds, the door opened and Immy stepped outside. She turned around to take a look at the space ship, only to see a blue police box. The Doctor watched her as she clasped her hand over her mouth. This was his favourite part.

'It's smaller on the outside! How do you do that?' It was different from what he usually heard, but then again, people usually didn't enter the Tardis without seeing the outside first.

They started their walk. Immy had said that they'd have to walk for about 30 minutes from the centre of Cardiff. After a while they turned right, and Immy said: 'See? I said it exists! This is my street, and my house is at the end.' Immy started walking faster, taking longer strides, and soon she was a good 20 feet ahead of them.

'How do you think it happened?' River asked in a muffled tone, so Immy would not hear her.

'I have no earthly idea,' the Doctor answered. 'The Tardis is supposed to have shields to prevent this from happening. Also, she somehow came from within. She was shocked to see the control room, and if she had come through the doors, she would have seen it.'

'Why couldn't the Tardis find her house?'

'Because it doesn't exist. She thinks she is walking to her house now, but I'm sure she won't find anything there. I'm sure it has disappeared, just like the piano room.'

'Any theories?' River asked, looking at him.

'I don't know. Somehow things around her seem to disappear. I don't know what causes it. And I really don't know how she could possibly have entered the Tardis.'

River looked at Immy, for the first time noticing that she had stopped walking. They could not yet have reached their destination; the road continued or at least a quarter of a mile. Immy had said her house was at the very end.

'What's wrong?' River asked, 'Why'd you stop?'

'It's gone,' she answered. 'You were right, Doctor, it's gone. My house is gone. Were did it go?' She turned to the Doctor, as if she expected him to know the answer.

'How do you know it's gone?' River asked, 'We haven't reached the end of the street yet. You can't even see the end from here.'

'From here, you should see the roof. We live in an old church. It has a high roof and you should be able to see it. It should be there!'

'You live in a church?' the Doctor asked, suddenly interested.

'Well, yeah, an old church. It wasn't being used as a church anymore and my parents decided to buy it. My dad has a thing for old things.'

'That's awesome, living in a church.'

'What am I going to do now? I can't go home…'

'Let's go down to where the church should be. If something happened to it, there are probably people there who can help.'

'I don't know how much good that will do us. If it burned down or collapsed or something like that you should still be able to see the top, and the fire department would be there. You would hear sirens. It's just disappeared, just like the piano room. I don't want to see that. Can we go back? I'm cold.'

'Sure,' River said, 'Let's go back.'

When they got back to the Tardis, River took Immy to the kitchen for a cup of tea. They sat down at the kitchen table. River took a good look at Immy. 'Are you okay?' she asked. 'You look pale and you're shivering.' She placed a hand on Immy's forehead. 'You feel a bit hot.'

'I don't know… It's all just a bit much. I don't know where I am, I don't know what to do, I don't know where my parents are… What if I never get home?'

'Listen,' River said, trying to be reassuring, 'We are going to get you home. Everything's going to be alright. We will find your parents and _we will get you home._ Promise.'

Immy gave her a small smile and drank a sip of her tea.

'River!' called the Doctor from the control room, 'Could you help me please?'

'I'll be right back. Or I hope so, at least.' She smiled and walked out of the kitchen.

In the control room, she found her husband lying on his back under the controls. 'What are you doing?' she asked.

'I'm trying to find out how it happened. No luck so far. But if you could help me, maybe we'd find out and we could reverse it and we could get everything back the way it was.'

'Okay,' River said, and she lied down beside him.

After an hour or so, they had still not found anything. River sat up. 'I promised Immy I would be back soon. She must be bored out of her mind just sitting there and waiting for me. If she hasn't wandered off, that is.'

'They _always _wander off,' the Doctor said, but River was already gone.

In the kitchen, River found that Immy _had_ wandered off. River sighed. It could take hours to find her, if not more. The Tardis was big and she might be completely lost. Sighing again, River walked down the hallway and tried the first door she saw. It was the their bedroom. Or one of them, at least. But this one they used the most often, because it was the closest to the control room.

River opened the door, and to her surprise, she found Immy lying in their bed. She was curled up like a ball and had pulled the comforter up to her chin. She was lying on the right side, the side were River would normally sleep. River walked over to her and brushed a few strands of hair from her face. She smiled. The girl deserved a good night's sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the characters.**

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4.

'Rose, do you want sugar in your tea?'

'No, thanks mum,' Rose answered. Her voice seemed to tremble a bit. Keep it together, Rose, she told herself sternly.

Her mother came back into the room, holding two steaming mugs of tea. She put them on the coffee table, and went back into the kitchen to get some cookies. Rose sighed and looked at her hands. They were trembling as well.

She didn't know how she was going to tell her. She didn't know what was going to happen. She knew her own mother had been a young mother herself, so maybe she would be understanding. On the other hand, she had always told Rose to wait, to first get a good job and a good house. To save some money and to get a steady relationship. She didn't have any of those things; except for the relationship.

Repeating the things her mother had warned her for had only made her more nervous. She felt like such a failure.

Her mother re-entered the room with the cookies, handing one to Rose. 'How are you doing, Rose?' she asked. 'And the Doctor, how is he doing?'

'Great,' answered Rose, 'We're doing fine.'

'Are you okay? You seem a bit distracted.' Jackie studied her face.

Suddenly, Rose couldn't hold it in any longer. 'Mum,' she said, voice trembling again, 'I'm – I'm pregnant.' She looked her hands, not daring to look Jackie in the eye.

Jackie didn't say anything. After a what seemed like ten minutes but what probably was just a few seconds, Rose looked up again to see her mother. She looked completely baffled and lost for words.

Finally, she spoke.

'You're… _pregnant_?'

Rose nodded, again looking down.

'Rose! What were you thinking? Didn't I tell you to be careful? Didn't I tell you to use protection?'

'I – I thought we did…'

'What does that mean "I thought we did"? What do you mean, thought?'

'Well, we were… er… we'd had a bit too much to drink, maybe…'

'You were completely drunk, you mean! And when did this happen? How far along are you?'

'I'm three months alo-'

'THREE MONTHS? You're three months pregnant and you tell me _now? _The Doctor's only been here for three months! Who does he think he is? Thinks he can live here for one week and then knock up my daughter! I will have a conversation with him about this later!'

'Now, mum, please don't do tha-'

'Don't you "mum" me, young lady! All those warnings I gave you about being a young mother! All those times I told you how hard it was for me!'

'I'm sorry,' Rose whispered, 'I didn't mean for this to happen, neither of us did. I really did think we were using protection. Something must have gone wrong.' Silent tears were streaming down her cheeks.

Jackie seemed to calm down a bit and sat down next to rose on the couch. She placed her hand on her daughters back.

'Come on, Rose, there's no point in crying about it. What's done is done and we can't do anything to change it. We need to figure out how to handle this. First of all, you will need to move. That tiny flat of yours is no place for a baby. Secondly, the Doctor will need to get a job.'

'Yeah, we already talked about that,' Rose sniffed. 'He said he would take that offer from Torchwood. He declined it a few weeks back but they said they would always have a place for him, so…'

They talked for some time about becoming a mother and caring for a baby. After a while, Jackie seemed to get quite excited about the idea of becoming a grandmother.

Rose went home after her third cup of tea. When she opened the front door, she was greeted by the delicious smell of the Doctor making dinner. She went to the kitchen were she found him stirring French onion soup.

'That smells so good,' she said.

He turned around and smiled at her. 'How did your mum take the news?' he asked.

'She wasn't too happy about it at first,' Rose answered. 'She was okay with it later. I think she's still a bit cross with you, though,' Rose added, grinning at the Doctor.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do no own Doctor Who or any of the characters.**

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5.

Immy woke up the following morning. Or at least she thought it was morning. There were no windows or clocks, so she couldn't know for sure. She was still wearing the clothes she had worn the day before. They were wrinkly and smelly.

Immy sat up, her head throbbing painfully. She wondered if there would be a bathroom somewhere, so she could at least take a shower. She felt sweaty and disgusting.

She walked around a room, looking for a door that might lead to an en-suite. After having opened countless built-in cupboards (with some really weird stuff in some of them) she finally found the bathroom.

Immy felt much better after she'd taken a long shower. She grabbed a fluffy white towel and dried her hair and body. She looked at the heap of clothing that was on the floor in the corner, disgusted by the idea of having to wear the same underwear that she had worn the day before. Then she saw a grey bathrobe hanging on a hook next to the door. She put it on and left the room.

She entered the hallway and was greeted by the smell of breakfast being prepared. She could hear the voices of the Doctor and River through the kitchen door. Before going in herself, she tugged at the robe to close it a bit. Suddenly she felt ashamed for sleeping in their bed and using their bathroom without even asking.

She sighed and pushed the door open. She saw the Doctor making toast and River sitting at the table. There were a variety of breakfast foods already standing there.

'Good morning, Piano Girl! Did you sleep well? I see you're wearing my bathrobe; you probably need some clothes, don't you? That's alright, I've got tons of them. River, would you mind showing her?'

'Not at all, sweetie,' River smiled. She walked over to Immy and took her arm. 'You coming?' she asked.

Immy nodded and let River lead her away from the kitchen, through countless hallways, doors, rooms and corridors. Finally, River stopped in a rather large room. She pointed to a few cupboards to the left of the room. 'Those are filled with women's clothes. Take whatever you need, they don't really belong to anybody.'

'What do you mean, they don't belong to anybody? How did they get here?'

'It's just clothing that people forgot or left behind for some reason. I should warn you, there's some pretty weird stuff in there.' She winked and left Immy alone in the room.

'Is there also any underwear?' Immy shouted after her.

'Bottom drawer!'

Immy opened the bottom drawers of all the "female" cupboards. There was a strange collection of clothing in them. There were different pieces of underwear, in a variety of colours and sizes. Some were completely out-dated and some looked very futuristic. Some were see-through and looked so skimpy that see felt ashamed to just look at them, while others looked like something an elderly lady would were.

Her eye fell on a pair of light pink cotton panties that looked like they would fit her. They did. She found a matching bra, which, quite surprisingly, fitted as well. Then she opened the doors of all the cupboards. Baffled, Immy looked at the content. There were ball gowns from the nineteenth century, bathing suits from the sixties, space suits, wedding dresses, t-shirts in a variety of colours (some of which she had never seen before) and all sorts of pyjamas. She looked at the different articles of clothing, skipping the really weird ones, and trying some of them on. Finally she settled for a purple and blue t-shirt and a dark pair of jeans.

She stayed in the room for a while, having fun trying on all the different hats that were lying on the cupboards and looking at the amazing Victorian dresses. Then she noticed her stomach was grumbling, and she went back to the kitchen. Or at least, she tried. After having walked for ten minutes, she found herself completely lost inside the maze that was the Tardis. She looked around, and even though she felt like she and River had gone through this corridor, she knew they hadn't because she would have noticed the painting of a cat that was hanging to her left. Everything looked the same and she couldn't remember which way she had come from. She figured out that, if she were gone long enough, someone would surely go looking for her.

She waited for a while, but started to get really bored and also very hungry. She opened the nearest door, looking for some distraction, and found a bedroom.

The bedroom was not very large, but it was cosy. There was a single bed pushed against the wall and the wall opposite was painted a light shade of blue. Immy sat down on the bed. She grabbed the pillow and stuffed it between her back and the wall. Suddenly she saw a photo, lying on the place where she'd just taken the pillow from. Taking the photo in both of her hands, she held it in front of her face so she could take a look at it.

It was a photo of her parents.

What was a photo of her parents doing here? There was a photo of her parents underneath a pillow, in a little bedroom in a _very_ weird spaceship. It all seemed just so unlikely.

So studied the photograph more closely. It was an old photo. Her parents looked so much younger. She turned it around to see if there was a date on the back. May 2006.

She looked at the front of the photo again and decided to keep it. It was nice to have a photo of her parents while she couldn't find them. Also, she might want to question the Doctor about it later. Because it _was _strange that he had this photo.

Speak of the devil; she heard footsteps in the corridor. She quickly stuffed the photo in her pocket.

'Immy, where are you? Can you hear me? I brought food!'

'I'm here!' she shouted back, and got up from the bed. The Doctor appeared in the doorway, holding a plate with toast and muffins. She smiled at him, but he didn't smile back. She saw a shocked expression on his face as he dropped the plate he was holding.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the characters.**

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6.

Time had flown by. Rose and the Doctor had been busier than ever, looking for an apartment, finding affordable baby furniture and deciding on a name. Rose's belly had swollen to the size of a beach ball – or at least, that was what she thought – and the due date got closer every day.

When Rose was 28 months pregnant, they finally found a suitable apartment. It had three bedrooms and a big living room. It was perfect. They moved in, painted the master bedroom and decorated the nursery. Since they had no idea whether it was going to be a boy or a girl, they kept the walls a neutral white. Most of the furniture was white or grey, and they had also bought some unisex baby clothes.

Rose started to get really excited and impatient for this baby to arrive. Some days, she would go to the nursery and sit on the rocking chair in the chair, where she planned to feed the baby in the night. She would close her eyes and imagine herself holding a tiny little bundle of joy.

Rose knew that the way she imagined what being a mother was like was terribly optimistic; the Doctor had told so. She knew she would be sore and tired and emotional. But it was just so hard to picture that right now, when she was feeling so happy_._

On a lazy afternoon, she was lying on the sofa, watching some stupid TV show about wedding dresses. Her back was hurting a bit, a dull pain she had felt for the past four days, but she didn't mind. She knew she wouldn't have to wait much longer. A week earlier, she had noticed that the baby had sunk a bit. It seemed to be much lower in her abdomen. She had remembered what the obstetrician had told her about the 'baby drop', and she had realised the baby had descended into her pelvis, getting ready for birth.

A range of new aches and pains accompanied this 'baby drop', and Rose had decided to take it easy. She stayed indoors most of the time and let herself be pampered by the Doctor. She was 38 weeks along now, and she could go into labour any minute.

The show about wedding dresses ended, and a show about dogs started. Rose stared at the ceiling. She_ hated _daytime television. She had only turned on the telly because she hated silence even more.

Not paying attention to the TV show anymore, Rose started to drift off. She couldn't keep her eyes open anymore and multiple times she found herself suddenly waking up from a short nap.

After a while though, she didn't wake up constantly anymore; she was lying on the sofa comfortably, vast asleep and snoring softly.

She slept for a few hours, and didn't even wake when the Doctor came home. He greeted her as he opened the door. When he saw her sleeping though, he tried to be as quiet as possible. He walked over to her and kissed her on her cheek. He cautiously moved her feet, so he could sit on the sofa as well. Although he had been as gentle as possible, Rose woke up anyway and moved her legs. The Doctor gave her another kiss, this time on the lips, and sat down on the other end of the sofa.

The Doctor pulled her feet on his lap and took one of them in his hands. He knew how sore they were and how much she liked it when he massaged them. Judging by her expression of intense pleasure, he wasn't mistaken. He smiled.

After he had massaged both of her feet, Rose sat upright, stretching her back. She yawned, looked at the Doctor, and asked: 'What do you want for dinner tonight?'

To her utter surprise, he replied: 'Rose… Did you just pee on our sofa?'


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the characters.**

7.

All of a sudden, the Doctor felt angry. This girl wasn't supposed to be here. Nobody was supposed to be here.

And there she was, _even wearing her t-shirt,_ looking al innocent and oblivious and somehow reminding him so much of _her._

He dropped the plate he was holding, spilling strawberry jam all over the carpet, and seized her by the shoulders.

'What are you doing here?' he said in a low, soft voice, sounding even more dangerous than if he were yelling.

Immy flinched at his words, not understanding what was going on, and backed away, into the room. 'I was lost,' she whispered anxiously, 'I'm sorry, I couldn't help it, this place is so big and everything looks the same and I'm sorry!' Silent tears had rolled down her face.

The Doctor calmed down a bit at the sight of her tears, but was still upset. 'Why are you wearing that?' he asked, pointing at the t-shirt.

'I don't know,' she answered, not understanding her mistake. 'It was in the closet.'

'It shouldn't be. Let's go,' he answered curtly. He turned around and walked off. Immy quickly followed, picking up the plate on the way. She almost had to run to keep up with his long strides.

The Doctor knew that he was being irrational. Immy couldn't possibly know who had slept in that room, who had worn that t-shirt or why she reminded the Doctor so much of that girl.

The Doctor had tried not to think about her for a long time. He didn't want to forget though, and he had kept all of her stuff, everything that reminded him of her. He had placed it all in her old bedroom, and made the Tardis move the room to the back of the ship. He would sometimes go there on his own, but he didn't seem to be able to remember the happy memories; all he felt when he saw that room was guilt and grief and sorrow.

Not only the room seemed to have that effect on him; everything that was somehow connected to her sparked the same emotions as the room, and he couldn't even think or say her name without instantly feeling sorrowful.

So when he saw her standing there, in that room, wearing those clothes, she suddenly looked so much like her. The blonde hair, the feminine curves, the wide smile; he couldn't help thinking her name. _Rose._

He entered the console room and seated himself on the floor, with his back to the console. He hoped she wouldn't follow him and would go to the kitchen instead, to get some breakfast. River was probably still looking for her. He knew should tell her that he had found her, but he didn't. He wanted to be alone for a while.

The Doctor closed his eyes. He knew it was unfair to be so angry with Immy, but he couldn't help himself. He had felt as if she had penetrated his memories, as if she had deliberately tried to upset him, even though he knew that was not the case. He sighed. He should apologize.

The door to his left opened and Immy entered the room, holding a glass of orange juice. She walked over to him and sat down.

'I'm sorry,' she said. 'I'm sorry for being in that room.'

'It's alright,' the Doctor answered. 'You couldn't have known that you were not supposed to be there. I'm sorry for being so angry with you.' He smiled at her, and she smiled back.

'Can I just ask… What's so special about that room?'

'There was a girl once. She was with me, on this ship. She used to sleep in that room. She's gone now. I lost her.'

'I'm so sorry,' Immy said. 'I didn't know.'

'You couldn't have.'

'But… When I was in that room… I found a photograph.'

'She left very suddenly,' the Doctor said briskly. 'She left lots of things behind.'

'But I'm very sure this photo wasn't hers.'

'And why is that?'

'It's a photo of my parents,' Immy answered. 'It's an old photo, but it's definitely my parents.'

'What do you mean?' the Doctor asked, now interested. 'Show it to me.'

Immy dug in her pockets and pulled out the photo. It was a bit wrinkly, and she straightened it out a bit before handing it to the Doctor. He took it from her and looked at it closely.

'Well, I'm sure this can't be your parents,' he said.

'What do you mean? Have you met them?'

'No it's just… This is a picture of me and that girl.'

'No it's not. You are not in the picture.'

'Yes I am. I had a different face back then, it's a bit complicated. But this is me, I'm certain of it. This can't be your parents.'

'Well, I am quite sure that they are, actually. See,' she said, pointing at the woman, 'This is my mom. Everybody always tells me how much we look alike.'

The Doctor looked at her. She was right, they did look alike, especially with her wearing Rose's t-shirt. Suddenly he knew who she reminded her of when he first met her. He sprang to his feet.

'This is your mother?' he asked.

Immy stood up as well and nodded.

'Why didn't you tell me before?' he asked loudly.

'You never asked!' Immy shouted back.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the characters.**

8.

'W-what?' Rose stuttered, 'No. No, of course not. What do you mean?'

The Doctor didn't say anything, but pointed at the grey fabric of their sofa. She looked at the sofa as well. Where she had just lied, there was now a large dark circle. It didn't really stink, but it sure smelled funny. She gasped.

'I think… I think my water just broke,' she whispered. 'What do we do?' All the preparations, all the reading she had done, it all seamed meaningless and pointless now. She couldn't remember any of it and she didn't know what to do. She was going to have a baby.

Rose looked at the Doctor. He seemed just as scared as her.

'You lie down and relax,' he said, 'I will call the obstetrician.' He hurried to his phone, which was lying on the table.

Rose listened to his conversation with the obstetrician. Apparently, the obstetrician had reassured him that everything was going to be okay, because when he turned to Rose again, he seemed much calmer.

'She asks if you're having contractions yet,' he said, covering the phone with his hand.

Rose thought about it, and then shook her head.

'She has not,' the Doctor said to the obstetrician. 'Yes. Okay. No. Okay, we will do that. Thank you, bye.'

He hung up and turned to Rose again.

'What'd she say?' Rose asked before the Doctor could even say a word.

'She said that we could go to hospital as soon as your having contractions. If you're not yet having contractions in 24 hours, then we should call her and go to the hospital anyway.'

Rose nodded. She hoped the delivery would be quick. A few months previously, she had not been able to contain her curiosity and had looked up some labour stories and videos. It had not been a very good idea. She had read the most awful stories about 2-day labours, horrible C-sections and terrifying injuries. The videos were even worse. As she thought about those videos again, she shuddered. The Doctor noticed.

'What's wrong, honey? You okay?' he asked worriedly.

'I'm fine… just a bit scared. I don't know… it all seems to be happening so fast. What if there's something wrong with the baby? What if everything goes wrong? What if-' She was breathing rapidly now, concern showing on her face.

The Doctor hurried over to her and crouched next the sofa. He placed a hand on her cheek. 'Everything is going to be alright. It will be over before you know it, and when you're done, you'll have a beautiful little baby in you arms. I've had children before, I know what it's like. I'll be there for you.'

Rose looked into his eyes and felt a bit reassured. The Doctor gave her a kiss and then rose to his feet again. 'Would you like a cup of tea?' he asked, smiling. She smiled back and nodded. He always knew how to cheer her up.

The Doctor brought her her tea and a cookie. He also brought a towel to cover the spot on the sofa and a pair of clean sweatpants. Suddenly, she remembered the ones she was wearing were wet. It hadn't bothered her before, but now that she noticed that they were wet, she couldn't keep them on for another minute. He helped her change into the clean ones, and once she had them on, she noticed the Doctor had forgotten something.

'Honey, could you bring me a pad please? I'm, err, I'm leaking a bit, I think.' She blushed a deep red. She knew that being ashamed of something like that at a time like this was silly. If he was going to be there when she was giving birth, he would see worse things. She suddenly remembered the videos, and blushed even more.

'Yeah, sure,' the Doctor answered immediately, rushing out of the room. After a few seconds, he came back and asked: 'Where do you keep those?'

'They're on the bottom shelf in the bathroom cupboard. The big ones, please.'

'Okay. Be right back.'

She heard him rushing to their bathroom and rummaging in the cupboard. After a few minutes, he came back with one of the pads. He helped her walk to the loo and back, and then handed her her tea again.

An hour passed since he'd spoken the obstetrician, and Rose still had not had any contractions. She was getting impatient. She wanted to meet her baby _now_. The Doctor looked at her. 'You okay?' he asked.

'It's taking so long,' Rose replied. 'I just want to do this as soon as possible and be a mother.' She sighed.

'I know it's a long wait, but it'll be worth it. Why don't you take a nap?'

'No, I'm not tired at all. I just took a nap two hours ago.'

'We can watch a movie?' the Doctor suggested.

Rose agreed and chose a movie. It was a lame chick-flick, but she was not in the mood for anything deep right now. She just wanted a bit of distraction.

As they were watching, Rose could tell from his face how much the Doctor hated the movie. She snickered. Even though she loved him and would never hurt him, it felt kind of good to know that he had to watch something he didn't like, while she had had to carry a child with her for nine months and was now waiting for painful contractions. She smiled her sweetest smile at him, and he smiled back, pretending not to hate the film.

The film ended, and they decided to go to bed. The Doctor held her in his arms until they both fell asleep.

Rose woke with a start. Her arms were curled around her belly. A bit disoriented, she looked to her right. The bright red numbers on the alarm said 3:21 am. On her other side, the Doctor was vast asleep. She tried to wake him gently. When that didn't work, she shook him a bit harder. He grunted, turned to his other side, and continued sleeping. She sat up and moaned. She was definitely having contractions now.

'Doctor,' she said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

'Hmm?'

'You gotta wake up, I'm having contractions.'

'Whut?' he turned to her, blinking his eyes.

'I'm having contractions,' she repeated. She was surprised at how calm she was. The Doctor seemed to be the complete opposite of calm.

'You're having contractions? Are you sure? How far are they apart? Have you packed a bag yet? Where- Where is my shirt?' He stumbled out of bed, looking for clothing and her bag and the light switch. She calmly watched him, quite enjoying the scene. He finally found the light switch and turned on the light. She could clearly see him now, a bewildered look on his face and two mismatched socks in his hands. She snorted. 'Let's just go,' she said.

Rose swung her feet over the edge of the bed, and the Doctor hurried to her side. He helped her get dressed, carried her bag (which, of course, she had packed about a month ago) and helped her into the car. The contractions were getting more and more painful, and even though she tried to pretend they weren't bothering her, she saw him look her way worriedly each time she had one.

At last they arrived at the hospital. They were brought to a delivery room and the Doctor helped Rose lie down on the bed.

The labour seemed endless. Four hours had passed, and she still wasn't dilated enough to start pushing. The contractions had gotten worse. Every time one came, she squashed his hand and bit the pillow.

When finally she was dilated enough, she was allowed to push. Luckily, time spent pushing seemed to pass much faster than time spent waiting in agony. It was much more painful, though, and Rose felt like she was going to rip apart. Or maybe she did. She couldn't see over her round abdomen.

'Just one more push. You're almost there!' the midwife called over the commotion in the delivery room. Rose gritted her teeth and gave every last bit of energy she had.

When she heard the first cries of her own little baby, time seemed to stop. She tried to sit up to see, but the nurses gently, though firmly, pushed her back down. She was jealous of the Doctor, whom she saw glaring in the general direction of her crotch, where she guessed her baby could be seen. She suddenly heard a snap, and her crying baby was lifted up, shown to her, placed in her arms. 'It's a girl,' she heard someone say, but she wasn't aware of who it was. Tears of joy rolled down her face, and she didn't care that she was sore and sweaty and bloody; she had never been this happy.

She looked up at the Doctor, and she saw her own expression mirrored on his face. He kissed her on the lips, a caring, loving kiss, and then she smiled.

The midwife came to take her daughter; she needed to be washed and clothed. Two nurses tended to Rose. She stretched her neck, trying to see her little girl, but she couldn't.

When the midwife finally brought her back, she was clothed in the little striped pyjamas she had bought just a few weeks earlier and there was a pink wool cap on her little head. Rose held her in her arms, unable to look away. The Doctor sat next to her on the bed. They sat in silence for a while, beaming, admiring their little miracle. One of the nurses came to help with the breastfeeding, and then left again, giving them some time alone.

After a while, one of the nurses came back with a form. 'What is your daughter called?' she asked.

They both looked up and the Doctor answered the name they had decided upon a month earlier.

'Imogen.'

Looking at her newborn baby, Rose whispered: 'Our little Immy,'


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the characters. Nor do I own the lyrics of the song 'Golden Slumbers' by the Beatles. **

9.

The Doctor was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling of his bedroom. He wasn't tired at all, but River had dragged him to bed as she always did. Now he was just lying there, wide awake, listening to River's breathing.

It had been a long day. Knowing where Immy had come from, the task to take her home, which had seemed hard at first, seemed downright impossible now. He couldn't go to the alternate universe again. The walls had closed.

He turned to his side, his back to River. Maybe he could send her back the way she had come: through the Tardis. Only he hadn't figured out how that had happened yet, and there was no way he would be able to reverse it if he didn't know how it had happened in the first place.

He thought about various options for a few hours, tossing and turning in the bed. Eventually, River woke up.

'What are you doing,' she asked him, slightly irritated. 'Can't you just lay still?'

'I'm sorry,' he said. He hadn't yet told River about Immy's parents and he didn't know if he wanted to. Then again, if he was somehow going to have to get Immy back to the alternate universe, River could probably be of help.

'Listen. Today Immy found an old photograph. It was in that bedroom that never gets used all the way at the back of the Tardis.' He opened a drawer in his nightstand and took out the photo. He hadn't returned it to Immy, saying 'he needed it', which was a lie. He turned on the night lamp and gave it to River.

She looked at it for a while, and then looked back at him. 'That's you and… Rose?' The Doctor nodded. He knew River had never seen a photo of Rose, but he had described her a few times.

'Immy looks exactly like her,' River whispered. It bothered him a little that she noticed this so quickly when it had taken him so long. He took the photo from her hands.

'Immy said she'd found a photo of her parents,' he said to her, looking at the photograph.

'But that's a photo of you and Rose, you just tol-' River suddenly stopped, pushed herself up with one arm and looked him sternly in the eye. 'You didn't knock up Rose, did you? Tell me you didn't knock her up!'

'I didn't,' the Doctor replied hastily. 'I told you about my clone once, didn't I? Well… I guess that's her father.'

'But… doesn't that mean she from the alternate universe? You said Rose was in an alternate universe.'

'Yeeeaaah, see, that's the problem. I can't figure out how to get her home without destroying the Tardis. It would help if I knew how she got here, but I don't know that either.'

They lay in silence for a while, thinking about possible ways to reunite Immy with her parents, but neither of them could come up with anything. When the Doctor heard rummaging in the room opposite of theirs, he got out of bed and got dressed.

The Doctor had made a bedroom for Immy across from theirs. He knocked on her door, and heard her call: 'be right there!' He went to the kitchen and began making breakfast. He felt a bit guilty. He had not explained to her why he had said that he was in the photo. He was sure she was confused, and he knew confused people jump to conclusions. He just didn't want to hurt her; he didn't want her to think her father was a 'clone'.

As he was thinking about it, Immy entered the room. He knew River would need some time to get ready and dressed, so he supposed they could talk without being disturbed. Immy sat down at the kitchen table.

'Listen,' the Doctor began. He didn't sit down next to her, but kept stirring the bacon he was frying up. 'I think I should explain a bit more about the photograph you found yesterday.'

He heard her turn around in her seat to look at him, but he stayed with his back to her.

'Or maybe I should tell you a bit about myself first.' He faced her now. 'I'm not exactly human,' He said. 'I look like a human, but I'm not from Earth. One of the differences between my race and humans is that, when our bodies are old or damaged or worn out, we can change them. It's called regeneration.' She seemed a bit surprised at that, but not shocked, as he had expected. He continued. 'I met Rose in 2005. That was two regenerations ago, for me. She travelled with me for a few years, during which I regenerated once.' Again he looked at her to see if she was taken aback by this information, but she looked fine. 'Then there was an… accident. She was locked in another dimension, a parallel universe. Then a few years later, there was a crisis. She found her way back to me, and then a lot of… stuff happened, and this man came into existence. He was exactly like me, expect for his more human physiology. I brought both of them back to the other universe. And that man is, I presume, your father.'

She thought about it for a while, apparently not completely satisfied with his explanation. She didn't ask any more questions about it, though. She changed the subject.

'Can't you just bring me back to that universe, if that's where I came from?'

'No, I'm sorry, but I can't. The walls of the universes have closed, and crossing them will put everything in danger. I'm figuring out a way to do it, but it might take a while.'

Immy did her best to hide her distress, but the Doctor knew how she felt. He walked over to her and kneeled next to the chair she was sitting on, so he could look her in the eye.

'Immy, listen to me. I will do everything in my power to get you home. I promise. I will get you home.'

A long day had passed, and River and the Doctor had not gotten any closer to finding a way to access the other universe safely. They were frustrated, tired and irritated. River decided to go to bed. The Doctor wanted another cup of tea before he would go to bed as well. He sat at the table for a while, drinking his tea, trying to come up with new ideas, but he couldn't think of anything. He finished his tea and went to the bedroom.

As he passed Immy's door, he heard a soft sobbing. He knocked on the door. 'Are you alright, Immy?' The sobbing stopped.

'I'm fine,' she answered, not very convincing.

'Can I come in?' the Doctor asked. She made a sound which he thought could pass for a 'yes' and opened the door.

She was lying in the bed, her face buried in the pillow. He sat on the edge of her bed. 'What's wrong?' he asked.

She lifted her head and looked at him. Her eyes were red and puffy.

'What _isn't _wrong?' she asked sarcastically. 'I don't know why I'm here. I didn't do anything. I – I just want to go home.' She started sobbing in the pillow again.

The Doctor didn't know what to do or say to comfort her. To his own surprise, he started singing softly.

_Once there was a way to get back homeward,_

_Once there was a way to get back home._

_Sleep pretty darling, do not cry._

_And I will sing a lullaby._

'Is that a Beatles song?' Immy asked, a bit distracted from her tears.

'It is, yeah,' he replied. 'Did it make you feel any better?'

She shrugged. 'I dunno.'

The Doctor laid a hand on her back. 'Don't worry, please,' he said, 'I don't want you to worry. Everything is going to be alright, I promise.'

She nodded, and laid her head down on the pillow again. The Doctor gave her a kiss on her forehead and left the room.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the characters.**

Author's note: I struggled a bit with this chapter, that's why I updated later than usual. Hope you like it, though. Let me know what you think!

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10.

The Doctor still couldn't grasp what had happened. They had been sitting at the kitchen table, having a cup of tea. It had been a very ordinary day, a Saturday. One moment, she had been there, the next she was gone.

The Doctor looked at his wife, who was sitting in the old wing back chair in the far corner of the room. She looked out the window, not really seeing anything, and didn't look up when he said her name.

'Rose,' he tried again. She turned her head. 'Would you like something to eat? I can set the table and we can all have lunch together.'

Rose shook her head. 'I'm not hungry,' she said, and looked out the window again.

The Doctor sighed. She wasn't taking care of herself, and she wouldn't let him help her. It had been going on like this for a week. They had tried everything, _everything, _to get their eldest daughter back, but it had been hopeless. She seemed to have vanished of the face of the earth. They had spent a few weeks trying to find her with the help of Torchwood, but when nothing had worked, Rose had become depressed. She sat in that old wing back chair day in, day out, looking out the window to see of her daughter would come home.

Even though he knew Rose was just going to sit there and do nothing, the Doctor didn't want to leave the room. He hoped that if he kept her company, she would eventually start talking to him. He seated himself on the sofa, and watched her for a while.

'Daddy?'

The Doctor looked up from the book he was reading. He was watching Immy. They were in the park close to their apartment. She was sitting on a blanket, happily playing with her dolls.

'Yes, sweetie, what is it?'

'When I grow up, I wanna be as tall as the sky.'

'And why is that?' the Doctor asked, genuinely interested now.

'So I can take away all the clouds and the sun will always shine.'

The Doctor smiled as Immy continued playing. He still couldn't believe how great everything had turned out. Imogen was five now, and she was a happy little girl. Of course, like any child, she would sometimes throw a tantrum, didn't always eat her vegetables and would wake up her parents at 5 am on weekends. They were very happy about their little 'accident' in the end, though; the Doctor couldn't imagine his life without little Immy. They had decided not to have any more children, however, or at least not for the next few years. They wanted to move out of that 2-bedroom apartment first; they would love a house with a garden for Immy to play in.

The Doctor felt a drops on his head and arms. He looked up and saw that dark clouds had appeared in the sky.

'Let's go home,' he said, smiling at his daughter.

'You listen to me, young lady!' the Doctor heard Rose shout upstairs. He smiled smugly. He was glad it wasn't his turn to tuck her in.

Lately, Immy didn't want to bed anymore. She would make a scene, cry, scream, kick, run and do everything in her power to stay up, or sleep in the big bed with them. They didn't know what had caused it, it had started so suddenly. She was such a sweet child.

He heard Immy crying loudly, and Rose telling her to lie down. They had been living in their new house for a few weeks when she had suddenly begun doing this. They had been so happy together, it had been a dream come true. They had a garden now, two extra bedrooms and an upstairs. The first few weeks, everything had been fine; she had gone to bed at half past seven, as always, and she would be asleep within half an hour.

Then suddenly, she had asked to stay up longer, she had come to their bed in the middle of the night, and she would come downstairs countless times before finally falling asleep. Quite often, they would have to sit with her and wait until she was finally dreaming, or they would let her fall asleep on the sofa and carry her to bed.

It was becoming a serious problem. They had tried to ask her why she didn't want to sleep, but the subject wouldn't usually arise before bedtime, and by then, she couldn't answer anymore.

Rose entered the living room. 'I got her in bed at last,' she sighed. 'Had to leave the lights on though.'

They watched TV for about half an hour. Rose lay with her head on his lap and he stroked her hair softly. He knew she loved it when he did that. But then the feared moment came; they heard little feet on the stairs and after which the door to the living room opened. They couldn't see her immediately, but she spoke as soon as she opened the door, frightened that they might send her back before she'd have had a chance to explain herself.

'Muuuum,' she began. They could hear she'd been crying. 'I don't – I don't – I don't want to sleeeeep,' she hiccupped. Rose sat up, sighing.

'I'll go,' the Doctor said quickly, and stood up. He took Immy by the hand and led her through the door. She began crying dramatically and held on to the door, trying to resist. When that didn't work, she let herself fall to the floor and tried to wriggle her hand free from his. This approach didn't work either, though; the Doctor picked her up easily and carried her up the stairs. She tried everything she could to free herself, but it didn't work. They had reached her bed now and she screamed even more hysterically.

Instead of trying to get her to lie down, the Doctor sat down on the bed, holding Immy in his arms, her cheek pressed to his chest. He rocked back and forth a bit, hoping it would calm her down, while he stroked her back. After ten minutes, it finally worked. She was still crying, but silently now. He saw she was very tired, even though she tried her very best to fight it.

'Imogen?' the Doctor asked, 'Why don't you want to go to sleep?'

Immy started crying again, though not as fiercely as before. After two minutes, she grew quiet again.

'Immy, please tell me. I'm your dad, I can help you.' The Doctor tried again.

Immy was breathing shakily, but then, to his surprise, she started speaking.

'At night there's noises,' she said quietly. 'The house makes noises.'

'Oh sweetie, that's just the house settling!' The Doctor was almost laughing with relief. 'Out here, you can hear the wind blowing around the house, and sometimes, the house moves a bit with it. But that's okay. You couldn't hear that in the apartment.'

'It's always so dark outside,' Immy whispered. 'And I can see monsters walking around the house sometimes.'

'There are no monsters, sweetheart,' the Doctor tried to reassure her. 'And even if there were, they will never get into the house. We lock the doors and windows every night.' He hugged her a bit tighter. 'There's nothing you have to be afraid of. I will always protect you.'

He looked at his daughters face. Her eyes were closed.

'You ready to sleep now?'

She nodded and rubbed in her eyes. He stood up, tucked her in and gave her a goodnight kiss. He walked to the door, asking: 'do you want me to leave the lights on?' but she didn't answer anymore. He smiled and walked down the stairs.

'We've got a surprise for you,' Rose exclaimed. She and the Doctor had just come back from a doctor's appointment.

'And what's that?' Immy asked, getting excited.

'In about 6 months, you'll have a brother or sister!'

'Oh.'

'Aren't you happy about that?' the Doctor asked.

Immy shrugged. 'I dunno,' she said. 'I imagine that the baby will be crying at night and that I will have to babysit and change diapers… Doesn't seem like much fun.'

'Well of course you are going to have to help out every now and then, but obviously, your mother and I will do most of the work. You'll have someone to play with!' he added to make it sound like more fun.

'Dad. I'm ten years old. When the baby's born, I'll be eleven. He or she's not going to be fun to play with until he's at least three years old, and by then, I'll be fourteen.'

'Imogen, I promise you that you'll love having a little brother or sister.'

'Okay,' Immy answered, clearly not as excited as them, and walked of to the living room.

_Clang! _Immy looked at them in shock, clearly not aware that she had just dropped her fork.

'_Again?' _She asked them unbelieving.

'Yeah,' Rose answered, 'And this time, it's twins.'

'But – but – Sam's not even one year old yet!'

'We are aware of that.' The Doctor answered dryly.

Immy stood up and walked off to her room. Rose and the Doctor weren't worried, though. She had acted like this the last time, but she loved her little brother to death. They smiled at each other.

'You said we were going to look at a house.'

'We are. Here it is.'

'This isn't a house. This is a church.'

'Yeah, and it's for sale! Don't you love it? You gotta think of the possibilities!' The Doctor couldn't contain his enthusiasm.

Immy giggled. 'Alright, I'll give it a chance.' She followed her parents inside.

Of course, she fell in love with it instantly.

The Doctor and Rose were sitting at the kitchen table, having a cup of tea. They could hear Immy playing the piano in the background. They had given her a piano when they moved in, and she had loved it. There was a leftover room on the ground floor, in between the kitchen and the living room. They had decided to give it to Immy as a piano room.

It was a very ordinary day, a Saturday. Immy was playing one of her favourite songs. Suddenly, though, she stopped.

Both Rose and the Doctor looked up. She wouldn't normally stop while she was playing a song, especially not if it was her favourite.

'Immy?' Rose called, 'Immy, you alright?'

There came no reply.

'Imogen?' Rose called again, standing up from her seat. She walked to the door that led to the piano room and opened it. She looked inside, shrieked, and closed it quickly.

'What is it?' the Doctor said, sounding very alarmed. He walked over to Rose, opening the door as well.

He could not believe what he saw inside of the room. It was gone. Or actually, it wasn't. The room itself was still there, but the interior had gone; all the furniture was gone, the floor was gone, even the paint wasn't on the walls anymore. He was looking at a completely empty room, with a concrete floor and brick walls.

Shock washed over his face, and he looked at Rose, seeing the same expression on hers. Then he suddenly ran into the room, looking around, trying to see where she could possibly have gone. He looked out the windows, trying to see of she had pulled a prank and was hiding in the garden, even though he knew she couldn't possibly have done that. Nobody could strip an entire room of its interior in mere seconds.

He turned back around again, dashed up the stairs, Rose close behind him. They both screamed the names of their three younger children, looking into different rooms to see if they were there. They found the three of them in one of the smaller bedrooms, quietly playing with their toys.

Both pulled their kids into a tight hug. They had never been so afraid in their lives. They had feared that somehow all of their children had been taken from them.

They went downstairs again, taking the children with them. The Doctor looked inside the piano room again, still thinking that he may have been dreaming. When he opened the room, he was shocked to find that everything had returned to its place. Everything, except his daughter.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the characters.**

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11.

'Dad! Dad I'm so glad to see you!' Immy wanted to run to him, to hug him, to jump into his arms like she used to do when she was little, but she knew she couldn't. He was just an image, as she was to him. Her eyes welled up with tears, and she blinked them away.

'Immy!' her father said, stunned. 'Immy, where are you?' He turned around and called: 'Rose! Rose, come quickly!'

'I've missed you so much,' Immy stuttered, drawing his attention back to her.

'I have to get your mother,' he said, and took a step in the opposite direction.

'Can't you just call her?'

'She won't come,' he answered flatly.

'But, dad… I only have a few minutes. Don't go.' She was crying now.

'I know that,' he said, and ran of.

Immy stood there silently for what seemed for a very long time, but was in reality probably only a few seconds. She heard her father talk to her mother urgently, but she couldn't hear her voice or her footsteps.

'Mum!' she called. 'Mum!' She screamed even louder now, sobs leaking through her voice. She couldn't hear anything anymore, and was terrified that the connection had broken.

Then, suddenly, she heard movement. Someone was running towards her, and her mother appeared. She didn't look good at all; her hair was a mess, her skin was greyish and she had bags under her eyes. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

'Imogen,' she whispered.

'Mum, I don't have much time,' Immy said quickly. 'I'm trapped in another universe. He says you can come and get me, mum, with a canon or something. You've got to come and get me.'

'Who says that?'

'That guy, the Doctor he calls himself, but that's not the point, mum- '

'You're with the Doctor?' Rose asked. That thought seemed to shock her even more than the ghostly appearance of her daughter in their kitchen.

'Please-' Immy began, but suddenly both of her parents disappeared. She stared at the empty spot for two seconds, but then sank down to the floor of the console room, wrapping her arms around her legs and crying into her knees. A few feet away, River took the Doctor by the hand, who was sitting on the floor as well, and led him out of the room.

Immy didn't know how much time she had spent on the floor of that room, but when she finally rose to her feet, the clock on the console indicated that it was well past midnight. She wasn't tired at all, but spending the rest of the night in that room didn't seem like a very good plan. She walked towards her bedroom, but when she reached the door, she didn't enter it. Instead, she walked on, down the corridor. Getting lost in the maze of tunnels and doors and rooms seemed like a great idea.

She walked for an hour, if not more. She was distracted and alone, she was lost and safe, she was walking and, at the same time, not going anywhere. The questions in her mind that she didn't want to think about were replaced by questions that arose along the way, sparked by the alien things she saw. Her tears had dried and the trembling had stopped, she was herself again.

She turned left and saw a door that she recognized; it was the bedroom she had entered on the second day she had spent in the strange space ship. She didn't know if she really wanted to go in. It had been so nice to walk around with a blank mind. But she had grown tired, and suddenly, the bed in that room seemed so tempting. Slowly, she opened the door a little bit, just far enough to be able to enter the room. When she looked at the bed though, she found that someone else had already taken place there.

The Doctor swallowed hard. He looked at the girl, the strange girl that had come into his life so suddenly, and he watched her talk to her mother. He knew Rose could not see him, and somehow, he was thankful for that.

She looked terrible, but he knew that she must have been worried all the time Immy had been on the Tardis. She had aged; he could see tiny wrinkles around her eyes and mouth. To him, she still looked as beautiful as she had the day he met her.

From the corner of his eye, he saw River standing on the other side of the console room. Even though she did her best to hide it, he could see a hint of jealousy in her eyes. He sat down on the floor, listening to the voice that he had not heard in a long time. And then, she was gone. There was a short silence, and then he heard Immy break down, sobbing heartbreakingly. He looked to his side, and saw her, a small heap of human on the floor of his console room. He wanted to help her, he really did, but he didn't know how.

He felt a smaller hand inside his, and River led him away from the girl, out of the room. The door closed behind them, and he couldn't hear her cries anymore. The silence seemed to wake him up, seemed to clear his head. The Doctor let go of River's hand and walked away. He wanted, no, he _needed_ to be alone.

Some time later he found himself in her old bedroom, staring blankly ahead, not really knowing what to do next. They would have to wait until Rose found her way to their universe, and he didn't know how long that was going to take.

The door opened, and Immy stepped inside. She saw him sitting on the bed, which seemed to startle her a bit. Obviously, she had expected to be alone. She waited at the door awkwardly, wondering if he was going to send her away and not really knowing if she wanted to stay if he was already here. The Doctor patted on the empty space next to him on the bed. Hesitantly, she sat down.

'I didn't know your name was Imogen,' the Doctor said, trying to make small talk.

'Yeah,' Immy answered. 'But I prefer Immy.'

They sat in silence for a while after that, just enjoying each other's company, not feeling the need to talk.

After some time, the Doctor checked his watch. He stood up. 'It's morning,' he said. 'Let's go.' They walked to the kitchen together. River was not there yet, so the Doctor went to look for her. When both of them came back to the kitchen, Immy had fallen asleep with her head on the kitchen table.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the characters.**

**Author's note: I'm sorry this update took so long! It's just that I had the first part of the story all planned out in my head, but now that it's nearing its end, I really have to think about what's going to happen next.**

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12.

They both stared at the spot where their daughter had just been standing. The Doctor looked to his side, at Rose, who seemed completely lost for words. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a tight hug. She started to cry, her eyes pressed to his shoulder. Even though he didn't like to see her unhappy, he was relieved that she cried. The emotion was finally coming out, and he knew that the zombie-like state that she had been in for the last week had come to an end. She had a way to get her daughter back now, and she wasn't going to give up until she succeeded.

'It can take me back to the right universe, because it has already taken me there once. It kind of knows the way.' She smiled.

'And then he will take both of you back through the cracks that you made using the canon?'

'That's the plan.'

'It's dangerous,' The Doctor whispered.

'Is that really what you're worried about?' Rose asked gently. 'Besides, you know a little danger is not going to stop me.'

The Doctor pressed his lips together and decided to change the subject.

'How are you going to find her when you've reached the other universe?'

'I thought about that. I still have the Tardis' phone number from when I travelled with you. Assuming she's in there, and the number hasn't changed, I can just call her.'

And then she was gone. The Doctor sat down, his head in his hands. He shoudn't have let her go. He should have stopped her. He should have gone himself. Why didn't he go himself?

What if she would never come back? What if his other self would seduce her with trips to far away planets or the Middle Ages? He felt despair rise up in his body, even though he knew it was probably irrational. She would never leave her children behind. She had a life with him. She would come back.

He sat up straight, and noticed Sadie and Sarah standing in the doorway. The twins looked at him a bit hesitantly, not sure if they could enter. He smiled and patted on his leg. They quickly climbed on his lap, both sitting on one leg.

'Where's mummy?' Sadie asked.

'Mummy has gone to pick up your sister. She'll be back soon,' he said while stroking her head.

'I'm hungry,' Sarah said.

'Well let's make you something to eat then, shall we?' He looked at his watch, noticing it was already past lunchtime.

The weird sensation of materializing in another universe flowed through Rose. It had been a while since she had last felt this, but somehow, it was a very comforting feeling. It was a feeling of hope, of finding your loved ones.

She turned around to see where she had ended up and smiled. The Powell Estate. How very appropriate.

She pulled her phone from her pocket, her heart beating fast. With trembling hands she dialled the number and pressed the phone to her ear.

She hadn't felt this nervous in quite some time. She was going to hear his voice again. She didn't even know if it was going to be the same voice. She didn't think it would; Immy wouldn't have called him "that guy" if he looked exactly like her father.

Biting her lip, she listened to the slow beeping that indicated that the phone on the other side was ringing. Her heart beat even faster. Any second now…

'Hello?' a woman's voice answered. Rose' heart sank. Surely this wasn't right. Something must've gone wrong. Maybe the numbed _had_ changed, and this number now belonged to someone else, to this woman that had answered the phone.

She didn't want to give up though, and asked: 'Hi, I'm looking for the Doctor.'

After a short pause, the woman answered: 'Who is this? Where did you get this number?'

'I'm Rose,' Rose answered. 'Rose Tyler. Can I speak to the Doctor please?'

'I'm sorry, he… he's busy,' the voice answered. 'Can I take a message?'

'Tell him that I'm in London, at the Powell Estate.'

'I'll tell him. Bye.' The woman hung up.

Rose looked at her phone, a bit taken aback by the situation. She had imagined it to happen a bit differently.

Also, who was this woman? Obviously, she was his new companion, but she didn't sound nice at all. Rose walked over to a wooden bench a few feet away. She sat down and looked at the field in front of her. One tragic day, the Doctor had tried to catch a ghost there. She smiled sadly.

She sat on the bench for about half an hour, looking at the slight changes that had been made to the place where she grew up. Some trees weren't there anymore, others had been planted since the last time she saw the place. She saw a lady that lived one floor down, and saw that she had aged a lot. Suddenly, she was scared that anyone might recognise her. In this world, she had gone missing.

Just as she started to have a mild panic attack, a familiar sound made its way to her ears. She looked ahead and the blue box started to appear. Her heart leaped. When the sound stopped and the box had become solid, the door opened. Nobody appeared in the doorway though, and hesitantly, she took a few steps towards it. She started walking a bit faster, and suddenly, she was running towards the blue box as if her life depended on it.

Once she was inside, she stopped. She looked around the console room, which had changed since she had last been there. Then she saw her daughter. 'Immy!' she screamed and she was running again, and then she finally embraced her daughter. Immy spoke inaudibly, muffled by her mother's shoulder. They held each other for a long time.

When they finally let go of each other, Rose heard a soft cough coming from the other side of the room. There was a man standing there. She had never seen him before, but she recognized him immediately. She took a few steps towards him.

'Hi,' she said lamely.

'Hi,' he replied.

'You've changed,' she said, stating the obvious.

'You haven't.'

'That's kind of you. I know time has taken its toll on me.' She smiled at the unintended wordplay.

'I wasn't referring to your physical appearance.'

Rose didn't know what to say. She looked away awkwardly, seeing Immy again.

'Did you kidnap my daughter?' she blurted out suddenly. Her cheeks flushed. This was _not_ how she had planned this conversation.

'I did not!' the Doctor answered, looking really offended. 'I didn't even know she was your daughter.'

'Have you actually looked at her? She looks just like me. Well, a younger version of me. Which is the only version you know, so you should've recognized her.' Rose crossed her arms and looked at him rather defensively.

'I just… I didn't, okay?' He looked a bit ashamed. 'She looks a bit old to be your daughter anyway.'

Now it was Rose's turn to blush. She didn't want to reply to that.

'Well, let's get going,' she said. 'I want to be home in time for tea.'

The Doctor looked a bit taken aback by her sudden desire to leave. He hadn't seen her for years and he had wanted to talk to her for just a little bit longer. 'Do want to leave already?' he said a bit hesitantly.

'Yeah… I think I just want to go home. You can get us home with the Tardis now, right?' He nodded. 'When we get there, I can show you where I live. You can meet my other children.'

'You've got more children?' He looked very surprised.

Rose laughed. 'Yeah, I've got three more at home. A boy and two girls. Twins.'

'Right. Yes. Sure. Let's get the two of you home.' He walked over to the console.

'Oh by the way, who was that woman that answered the phone?'

'That's River. She's my… she's my wife.'


End file.
